Likes, Dislikes and Dreams
by Habibaa
Summary: The battle with Itachi goes a little differently leaving Sasuke confused and unsure about his original purpose. Seeking answers (and maybe a change of heart), he heads to the one place he is sure would be able to answer his questions. -SasuSaku- -NaruHina-


Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or anything. There's also a quote from Hinata which I don't own (1). It all belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

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 **Likes, Dislikes and Dreams**

Chapter 1

He trudged warily, feet dragging across the muddy path. His head hung low, as though too heavy to carry. His eyes were shaded, hair hanging limp. He was almost a shadow of himself, no longer walking with the over-confidence and assurance he was known for.

It had been so long. So long since he could just stop. His purpose in life was gone and his life's path was looking like the path he was currently walking on – muddy and unclear.

He knew one thing. Everything he knew was wrong.

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"Naruto!" The scream tore out of Sakura's throat as she witnessed the crater that her village had become. Konoha was one of the strongest hidden villages, if not _the_ strongest village. And yet, here it was with nothing remaining except the grand Hokage mountain.

As if summoned by her call for help, Naruto appeared. His cloak fluttering behind him as he stood upon Gamabunta surrounded by the other toads. To say that Tsunade and Sakura were surprised would be an understatement. The last they had seen, Naruto had been depressed over the death of Jiraiya. It was amazing to see how much he'd improved in such a short space of time.

Furiously rubbing at her eyes, Sakura shakily stood up and made her way to Tsunade's side. She would not be standing behind again. She knew she had the strength to fight and protect, it's what she had been training for.

"The one you want is me, right?" The question was following with a swirling mass of chakra as Naruto slammed into Pain.

"There's no need for Konoha's Hokage to deal with the likes of these guys." Tsunade stared at Naruto, unbelieving that he had just knocked down one of the Pains that they were struggling against.

The following fight was too fast for anyone to keep up with, the exception being the Byakugan.

Sakura felt Hinata move closer to her as she attempted to figure out what was happening below.

"Hinata? What happened?" Sakura heard Hinata release a small gasp.

"They caught Naruto-kun!" Hinata began running towards the slope with Sakura quickly following after.

"No," her hands went to cover her mouth as Sakura saw what made Hinata take off.

In front of her, Naruto was pinned to the ground with thick black rods, staring up at Hinata who was standing in front of him as though to protect him, with her arms extended and Byakugan activated.

"I won't let you lay another finger on Naruto-kun!" Hinata had never been more sure of the actions that she was taking.

Despite Naruto's protest for her to move, Hinata continued. "I'm here of my own free will. I used to always cry and give up. I nearly went the wrong way… But you, you showed me the right way. I was always chasing you… wanting to overtake you." She stood up straighter. "I just wanted to walk with you. I wanted to be with you. You changed me! Your smile saved me! So I'm not afraid to die protecting you." (1)

She looked behind her for the first time and straight into Naruto's clear blue eyes. "Because I love you." She turned back before she could falter and faced Pain.

Sakura saw Hinata struggle against Pain as she attempted to hold him off while pulling the rods out of Naruto.

"Go!" she whispered to Hinata and crouched low as she made her way to Naruto. This way, Hinata isn't dividing her attention. She just had to last until Sakura could free Naruto.

Holding a finger to her lips, Sakura made her way into Naruto's field of view. She poured chakra into her hands and his eyes widened as he realised what she was about to do. A second later, with her enhanced strength, Sakura had yanked the rod out of Naruto's palms.

A second later, Hinata came crashing down to the earth.

Another second later and the animalistic roar of the Kyuubi could be heard for miles around.

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He looked up as he heard the roar echo throughout the forest around him. He had no intention of fighting anyone or anything for the moment. Whatever it was, someone else could deal with it.

With those thoughts running through his head, he continued steadily on his path. Never looking up, never looking around. As though the world didn't exist, only the path mattered. It wasn't in his nature to care about others, and he wasn't about to change that now.

He didn't notice when a giant mass of rocks gathered high in the sky, nor when it came crashing down. He simply continued on his path. He didn't notice the time. Simply stopped for an hour to eat and rest and then he was walking again. He didn't notice anything until he made it to the wall that once caged him and stopped him from achieving his dream.

He did notice that when he walked through the gate, expecting some form of patrol was that there was nothing.

Where a village once stood proudly, there now stood nothing.

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A/N: Never have I ever written a Naruto story so, sorry if the characters are slightly OOC. My knowledge of Japanese culture is also limited, I learnt everything I know from watching/reading anime and mangas.

Let me know what you think (no flames pls) and I'll see you soon!


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